Silence
by KeepCalmAndWatchAnime
Summary: It's community service week at Kanoha High and Naruto is given the assignment to help a special needs kid, Sai, who can not speak. Naruto tries to communicate with the boy and help him throughout his days at school, but while Naruto is doing everything he can to protect Sai from bullies, Sai is doing everything to protect Naruto from his fathers gang "The Akatsuki".
1. Prologue

_He doesn't speak, not even a whisper,_

_He has no emotion at all._

_He's the guy that walks with his head down_

_Whenever he is in the hall._

_He doesn't speak, not even a whisper,_

_Not many know his name._

_No one tries to speak to him,_

_It really is a shame._

_He doesn't speak, not even a whisper,_

_And no one knows why._

_Behind his fake smiles and lifeless eyes,_

_Lays a boy with scandalous secrets to hide._

_No one knows all the tears that he's cried._

_He's the boy who doesn't speak._

* * *

Naruto's freshman year has gone off to a good start already, even though it's only been two weeks. He's been focusing, and working really hard in every subject. All of his hard work paid off as soon as he saw the algebra quiz that had been passed on to his desk.

"What did you get", asked a nosy blond haired girl.

"Eighty five", Naruto said with the utmost pride.

"Ninety nine", she said with frustration.

"Cha! One hundred baby!", said the overly excited pink haired teen as she rubbed it in both of their faces.

Naruto rolled his eyes and the blond girl gave her a dirty look. It was like this every year with the two. Naruto always ended up in at least one class with the two monsters who always liked to compete against each other. At first, it was pretty entertaining to listen to the two insult each other and push each others buttons, but now it's just getting old. The two have known each other since preschool, and really started their rivalry in third grade when Ino found out Sakura liked Sasuke. Unfortunately, Ino liked him too, along with the many other girls at the time. That's when they began to compete against each other in everything from sports, academics, and even popularity. Mainly, they competed with their love for Sasuke, trying to see who could get his attention and who could spend more time with him, but it was a waste of time. Sasuke blew everyone off. He was a cocky, cold hearted, arrogant little prick who would show off to everyone, and make others feel below him. The sad thing is that he is still like that today, even after Naruto threatened to beat the shit out of him if he continued to be such an asshole. He never got to it, he would always say he would eventually, but all he ever did was fight with him verbally.

It wasn't till this year when the two girls dropped their crush on Sasuke Uchiha and decided to move on, but they still competed against each other in everything else. People started to get fed up with them this year because of their immature and obnoxious behavior, but Naruto was still able to put up with them. He would always have to remind himself the reason why he would still even go near them; he had the biggest crush ever on Sakura Haruno. Ino was pretty attractive too, but he didn't like her in that way. His desire for Sakura had been quite obvious since the beginning of sixth grade when he would always try to get her attention. She would ignore him and call him a pain in the ass, but when eighth grade rolled around, they got to know each other better, and now they were almost best friends. The best part was, that she didn't like that prick Sasuke anymore, so he had even more of a chance with her.

He looked over at Sasuke's desk to see what he had gotten on the test. Naruto looked away and sighed when he saw that the raven had gotten a hundred percent. The bell rang and everyone left the class room and rushed out of the room to catch their bus.

"Great work Naruto. I've noticed that you're been working hard and paying attention", said his teacher Asuma sensei.

"Arigato", he said with a grin on his face.

Naruto walked walked through the hallways of the school and came across a boy with pale skin standing next to a very intimidating looking man. He was probably a new student because the older man was talking to the vice principal about his son.

"I'm aware of the fact that he doesn't talk", the vice principal said.

Naruto walked slower so he could listen in to the conversation a little more.

"So we put him in classes with special children. He will still have all of his regular class work, but he will be in the same class room all day until lunch time when he is allowed to leave, but must come back immediately afterwards to spend the rest of the day in the room. He will also only have one teacher teaching him all of his subjects", the vice principal said.

"That is fine. He may not show it, but I'm sure he is pleased to start his freshman year here. I can tell that he is very happy to be back in his home town again", the mysterious old man said.

"That's excellent. I hope he enjoys it here. He will be starting his classes tomorrow", she said as she shook the hands of the two men and walked away.

_A boy who is put in special classes because he doesn't speak…that's just too odd._


	2. Chaotic Mornings

Naruto had a crazy weekend. He went to Kiba's apartment that was right next to his and drank over three beers, and because he is so small, he can't hold his liquor. He woke up on a Monday morning with a head ache, and forgot to do his homework. To make things worse, it was community service week. Every month they would pick one week where students would be assigned a community service job. The typical jobs were helping out at Konoha hospital, helping the janitors clean up after school, or working at a homeless shelter in the city. Thinking about all the work he had to do was giving him a migraine.

"Naruto-kun get out of bed already!"

"I'm getting up now!"

It took almost all of his energy to push himself out of his bed. He didn't have time to eat breakfast, so he quickly brushed his teeth, took his book bag, and left. The bus ride wasn't any better. He hated taking the bus, mainly because it was filled with girls who loved to gossip. He would usually sit with Kiba, and listen to him ramble on about how much he dislikes his father, but he was not here today, so Naruto sat alone. To his surprise, someone sat next to him. He looked over to see that it was the new student he saw on Friday. The boy who doesn't speak. Naruto knew it was no use trying to make the boy talk, so he let him be.

It was a very awkward bus ride. The boy was drawing some strange looking people with black cloaks with clouds on them. Naruto watched the boy as he carefully drew each characters facial features, after all, it took his mind off of the work he had to do.

"So you're the new kid right?", asked an obnoxious teenager with a bowl hair cut.

Rocklee was the most annoying kid in their grade, last year it was Naruto, but because Naruto has changed so much, he wasn't number one on the most hated list. Rocklee on the other hand, was probably number two.

He's the guy that everyone is nice to, but secretly can't stand his guts. He's like the "friend" that nobody likes and makes fun of, and this year, it seemed like he was trying very hard to find a new friend group.

"He doesn't talk", the blond says to the bothersome teen.

Lee looked at the silent boy who stared at Naruto. The boy then looked down and went back to his drawing.

"A boy who doesn't talk? How un youthful! Every kid should socialize and make friends! How can you make friends if you don't say a word to anyone?"

The pale skinned mute just continued to draw, ignoring the babbling nuisance sitting in the seat behind him. Naruto just stared out the window, trying to get his mind off of everything.

"It's rude not to acknowledge someone who is trying to speak to you. It's very impolite"

The pale boy didn't even react to the comment that was made.

"Do you not understand that this guy doesn't want to talk to anyone? Stop bothering him and let him be", Naruto said a little louder than he meant to.

People stopped what they were doing to get a glance at what was going on in the back of the bus. Suddenly the incident went from bad to worse when the pale boy got up from his seat and slapped lee right across the face, leaving a big red mark on his left cheek. Some girls gasped while others cheered at the boy's bravery. He had done something that should've been done a long time ago.

"Because I am a pacifist, and do not believe that violence is the answer. I will not hit you back. Fighting is un youthful", Lee said as he burned with embarrassment.

"Dude just shut your mouth already. If the boy doesn't talk then he doesn't talk, and you should leave him alone", a brunette said with annoyance.

"Yeah Lee, stop being a pain in the ass", shouted a short girl with blue hair.

Naruto could not believe that these girls were sticking up for him. Maybe it was because he was attractive, or maybe it was because he had the balls to slap lee across the face. Whatever the reason was, it left Naruto baffled. Even though he had a mild hangover and a rough nights sleep, his morning had become a lot more interesting than he expected.

Naruto looked at the pale boy who was still working on his drawing. He had to admit, he was impressed by the boy. At first, Naruto thought the boy would get the crap bullied out of him, and the boy would just take it, but he was sure wrong. The kid knew how to stick up for himself, and Naruto gave him a ton of respect for that.

When the bus ride was finally over Naruto made his way to his first class, which was one of his least favorite classes, modern world history. As soon as he walked in the room, he already felt bored. Everything about the class was boring. The students were boring, the teachers were boring, and the room wasn't even decorated with anything. It was just a room with white walls, a wooden book shelf, wooden desks, and a chalk board. There weren't even any posters with those motivational quotes on them that he could read if he did get extremely bored. And when lunch time rolled around, Naruto was nothing but happy. His teachers scolded him for not doing his homework, and it was nice to have a break from it all.

"Hey Naruto I heard you started a fight on the bus", his friend Shikamaru said.

"What the hell? I didn't start a fight, if anything, I was trying to stick up for someone", Naruto protested.

"Oh, well the incident got reported. You'll have a lot of explaining to do to the principal", he said as he yawned.

"What? How can you be so calm about it? Baa-chan has seen my record, and it's not so good. She knows I'm a trouble maker and she has a close relation ship with my father Iruka! This is so bad", Naruto said as he began to panic.

"Cool your balls. All you have to do is tell the truth, and you'll be fine", Shikamaru said.

"Naruto Uzumaki please come to the office", the loud speaker said.

Everyone in the lunch room looked in his direction, and Naruto began to feel light headed.

"Well, see you later", Shikamaru said as he walked away to go talk to Chouji.

Naruto walked out of the cafeteria as he heard some of the comments from his peers.

"And to think that he's changed", said a tall boy with a thick black beard.

"Once a trouble maker, always a trouble maker", said a girl in a snotty voice.

He looked over to Sakura and Ino who were sitting with Naruto's usual group of friends. They were all shaking there heads in shame.

"Tsk. Tsk, and to think that you've become a better person", said a blue haired boy to Naruto.

"Shut up you lousy little prick", Naruto spat.

"Still short tempered I see, eh Naru-chan?", the blue haired boy said in a teasing voice.

If there was anyone he hated almost as much as Sasuke, it was his snobby rich friend Suigetsu Suigetsu did everything in his life to make sure that Naruto's life was a living hell. In seventh grade he spread a rumor that Naruto was secretly a girl, and he was given the nickname Naru-chan until Naruto proved to everyone he was a boy, and he did it exactly how anyone else would prove their gender. Everyone else stopped calling him Naru-chan, except for Suigetsu, and the boy didn't stop there. In eighth grade he dated Sakura to piss him off, but Sakura only did it because Suigetsu promised it would make Sasuke jealous, and Sakura being the fool that she was, believed it. After two months of dating, Sakura ended it, and Suigetsu still wasn't satisfied. He would continue to figure out ways to make the blond even more aggravated with him. And it wasn't until the end of eighth grade when he began to stick up for himself and make friends, but Suigetsu still pushes Naruto's buttons.

"Still an asshole, eh Suigetsu?"

"Somethings just don't change now do they Naruto, kinda like you", Suigetsu said.

"This is all just a misunderstanding, I'm not in trouble. So stop telling everyone that I started a fight on the bus", Naruto snapped.

"Oh, you think I'm starting those rumors? That isn't me, and I swear to Kami. I start rumors about you that are a lot more vicious than that", Suigetsu said arrogantly.

Suigetsu was right. He spread rumors that were a lot worse than that. His rumors were so bad that the police had to search his locker last year because Suigetsu spread a rumor that Naruto was a drug dealer, which was believable at the time. Naruto used to always skip class and hang outside alone during lunch time. It was a matter of time when people became suspicious of where he was. Naruto's grades were also pitiful, and luckily he pulled himself together the last quarter of eighth grade, or he would have had to go to summer school. But that was the old Naruto, and the new Naruto is more motivated to do better in school, and has a lot more friends than he used to. He is becoming the boy that everyone can get along with, not the most popular guy in school, but well known. Even some people that used to hate him say hi to him in the hallways. He was the guy that everyone used to hate, but now the guy that people liked to talk to, but of course, he had the people who still disliked him.

"Then who the hell could it possibly be?", Naruto asked angrily.

"I don't know, and I don't care. But you better get to the principals office Naru-chan. I hear she is very strict, and does not like it when people are late"

Naruto gritted his teeth and looked over at Sasuke who was standing next to Suigetsu with his typical "this isn't worth my time" face. Naruto stormed off to the principals office opening the door with furry and nearly making it hit the wall, but he almost jumped back when he saw the angry blond woman sitting at her desk giving Naruto the evil eye.

Naruto gulped as he slowly closed the door behind him.

"Take a seat", she said sternly.


	3. Not bad for a Monday

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* * *

Naruto sat in the uncomfortable wooden chair. The seat was warm and the room was hot, a combination that made things even more uncomfortable. It was quiet as Tsunade searched through one of her file cabinets. Naruto couldn't help but to shift around uncontrollably in his seat. He did that when he was nervous, or when he didn't take his medication. He was nervous and forgot to take his medication, so today was not at all his lucky day.

"You're late", she said as she picked up her files and threw them on the desk.

"Yeah it was a long walk to get here"

"The lunch room is not far from my office, so don't make up any excuses. I know this school like the back of my hand", she said as she vigorously searched through each file and pulled out his record.

Naruto began to tap his foot rapidly.

"What happened on the bus"

"It wasn't my fault! You can ask anybody! I was only sticking up for the kid and I didn't lay a finger on anyone! He"

"I know what happened", she said cutting Naruto off.

"Oh", Naruto said as he started to relax.

"If you'd let me finish…I was going to say that I saw what happened on the bus because we have security cameras to make sure that no bullying or harassment was going on", Tsunade said.

"Sai had a good reason to hit Lee", Naruto protested.

"There is no reason to defend him. He hit a student, and that is not acceptable, but if Lee was bullying Sai, then Lee can get in trouble too. All you have to do is tell the truth and I will let you go. I already spoke to Sai and he told me his side of the story, but because you are a witness, I want to here your side. I won't just be questioning you, but others on the bus, so I suggest that you get your story straight if you don't want it to be obvious that you are lying"

Naruto thought for a few minutes before speaking, it was something that he rarely did. He usually just opened his mouth and said anything, but today was different. Today, he had to think things through.

"Sai decided to sit next to me on the bus. I heard on Friday that he is a new student who doesn't speak at all, so I decided to leave him alone. RockLee decided to try and talk to him, unaware that the kid can not speak. He started to bother the kid about the fact that he doesn't talk and how he won't be able to make friends. He kept rambling on about youth and crap. After that he called Sai rude and impolite, so I told him to shut up, and then I guess Sai was really upset with the guy, so he stood up and slapped him. Nothing else happened after that, but a few kids stood up for Sai, and were happy that Sai could stick up for himself"

Tsunade continued to take notes, and then when she finished she put her note pad away and started writing on Naruto's record.

"What are you doing", Naruto asked.

"Don't worry, I'm not writing anything bad", she grumbled.

"Can I go now?"

Tsunade sighed as she put everything else away.

"Yes, you may leave, but stay out of trouble. I already informed Iruka about the incident on the bus today"

"What? Why?"

"Because I am supposed to inform everyone's parents when a student is called down to the office. It's a school policy", she said while closing a file cabinet.

"Okay…but I have one more question for you"

"Alright, ask", Tsunade said as she crossed her arms and leaned back in her big comfy principal chair.

"Is Sai in trouble?"

"Of course he is, he may be special needs, but he's smart. He knows right from wrong, and he knows that hitting a child is wrong. He's mentally ill, not mentally retarded. He's disabled, but not as much as most of our special needs kids in Konoha high. He's not autistic, nor does he have any type of brain damage. He just doesn't talk"

"Oh, I understand, and what about Lee?"

"He will be coming to my office in a few minutes"

"Okay then. Goodbye Tsunade sama", Naruto said as he walked out of her office.

Tsunade put her palm on her forehead as she tried to concentrate on what she had to do in order to get through the rest of the day.

* * *

It was close to the end of the day and Naruto sat in his homeroom waiting for his teacher to come. They had homeroom every Monday, and instead of going home, everyone would stay after school for another fifteen minutes as they discussed things that he really could care less about. Today it would be community service jobs that were assigned to every student by the principal herself, and because Naruto knew the principal personally, he could tell that she wasn't going to give him anything easy.

"Sorry I'm late", said a grey haired thirty year old man.

The class groaned as they complained about how they were going to miss their bus and how the whole community service jobs were a pain in the ass.

"Get used to it. This happens every month for a whole week for your entire freshman year. Some of your jobs will be easier than others, but let's not compare our jobs with one another. The more you focus on what you need to get done, and how it will get done, the less you will be paying attention to the person next to you", the grey haired teacher said.

As much as Naruto hated to admit it, his teacher was right. He was going to focus more on what needed to be done, and less on what others were doing. He wanted to get his community service out of the way, no matter what.

Naruto watched as his teacher went up and down the isles of desks handing out little green slips with jobs on them.

"Volunteering at the local nursing home", shikamaru groaned with irritation.

Kakashi handed Chouji a green slip. Chouji flipped his over and smiled with excitement.

"Soup kitchen"

Naruto and Shikamaru laughed.

"You know, your supposed to feed the homeless while you're there, not feed yourself", Naruto teased.

"I'm sure they will let me taste at least something", Chouji protested.

"Whatever helps you sleep at night", Shikamaru said.

Kakashi passeda green slip to Naruto who has actually nervous to see what job his principal had given him. He flipped it over to see in what was written.

_**Help Special Needs Students in room A106**_

_**Hours: 12:30-1:30**_

_**All week starting tomorrow.**_

To his surprise, his job wasn't that bad, except for the fact that it was during his study hall, but it was better than having to stay after school.

The bell rang as people left the class room in a fit over there jobs, while Naruto left calmly with a smile on his face. As he grabbed his things from his locker he realized something. _Sai was going to be there._

He couldn't help but wonder if it was a good thing or a bad thing, but either way he was ready for it. He wasn't going to show up late or stay home sick because the less days you were late or absent, the quicker the job would get done.

Naruto hopped on his bus, barely being on time. He scanned the bus to find an empty seat next to Sai, and sat down. He also noticed that Lee was no where to be found, which was another good thing about today. An easy community service job, No RockLee, and he still hasn't gotten in trouble for anything this year so far.

* * *

"I heard Lee has an after school detention today", one guy said loud enough for the whole bus to hear.

Everyone laughed, except for Sai who was drawing some kind of landscape with cherry blossoms and a pinkish purple sky. Naruto was also impressed with this drawing. He sat and observed as the teen drew clouds on the thin white paper.

"Nice drawing", Naruto said with a friendly smile.

Sai nodded at him and continued to draw with his usual blank expression on his face. Naruto sighed and looked out the window. He knew that when he got home he'd have a lot of explaining to do.

* * *

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	4. Here we go again

"The principal called today", Iruka said when he walked through the door.

"Yeah", Naruto said nervously as he tried to sneak out of the family room and into his room.

"I'm no fool Naruto, don't try and sneak off into your room. I need to have a word with you", Iruka said as he put his bag down and walked over to the sofa that Naruto sat on.

Naruto sighed as he sat back down on the sofa.

"Tsunade told me that you had witnessed a kid on the bus slap another kid"

"Yes, I did, and I had no part in it"

"I know that, she told me", Iruka said as he scratched his head.

"So I don't see the issue here", Naruto said as he reached for the remote.

Iruka slapped Naruto's hand.

"We're not finished yet", his father said sternly.

Naruto nervously slouched back into his chair.

"The kids name is Sai. He is a new student to Konoha High School, and Tsunade heard his side of the story. She told me that Sai doesn't speak and that he has taken a liking towards you, even though he has only known you for one day. She told me that he appreciates that you stood up for him on the bus and is looking forward to seeing you again tomorrow"

"That's good, but I don't see how I can be friends with someone who doesn't talk", Naruto said before blowing a few strands of golden hair out of his face.

"You'll be surprised; there are more ways to communicate than speaking"

"Like texting and emailing?"

"No, Naruto, like through pictures and journals. There is more to life than just technology", his father scolded.

Naruto folded his arms across his chest and tucked his legs close to his stomach.

"But, I'm getting off topic. What I'm trying to tell you is to not be a bad influence on this kid. Tsunade told me that you will be working with special needs students, and I do not want to hear that you are doing anything inappropriate while on the job. I don't care how much those kids may piss you off, I don't want you hitting them or yelling at them. Is that clear?", Iruka said sharply.

"Yes", Naruto said.

"And that kid is on your bus, the next time he does something to harm someone, stop him"

"I'll try", Naruto said sounding unsure of if he could control a mute with a temper that was probably shorter than his.

"Good, now get your homework done. Tsunade has been hearing that you have a few assignments missing already", Iruka said sounding displeased with Naruto's missing assignments.

Naruto got up and went into his room to finish his homework. When he finally finished it all he fell onto his bed with and went to sleep.

* * *

The next day, Naruto went to school, and by the time lunch rolled around he wasn't too thrilled. He didn't know what it would be like to work with special needs kids. He wasn't the type of person for the job, but he was willing to try his best. When he opened the door he saw a bland room with an older woman standing in front of the door.

"Oh hello Naruto, come on in"

Naruto went inside the room to see a bunch of students who were quietly work. He was kind of surprised, when he heard that he would be working with special needs students, he thought it would be a lot more chaotic.

"They're really well behaved", the blond said.

"Sometimes they are, and sometimes they aren't. It's there free period, so they can work on homework, or go into a quiet room if they dislike working in a crowded environment"

Naruto looked around and observed each student. They all seemed to be working on a homework assignment while a few were staring at him

"Do I have to help them with there homework?"

"If you know how to do it, then yes, but first we should introduce you to everyone"

She walked into the front of the classroom as he followed her.

"Class, this is Uzumaki Naruto. He is a student who will be helping us out for the rest of the week"

"Hi", Naruto said nervously.

"Excuse me sir, but why are you blond?", one of the students asked.

"Are you married", the other one asked.

"No Kira, he is a student who goes to this school. He is not married"

Naruto was slightly surprised by the questions that were coming up from the student's mouths. He was about to open his mouth to say something, but was cut off.

"You can ask him those questions later", the teacher said.

"You don't look Japanese at all. Are you American?", a student asked curiously.

"Aido, I said questions will be asked later"

The students got back to working silently, but some just sat there and stared at him. Making Naruto feel a lot more uncomfortable than he already did.

"Do they always ask questions like that?"

"A majority of them are autistic. Some autism is more severe, while others are mild. A few kids have down syndrome and three or four have other mental issues, but most of the kids here have autism"

"Oh, I understand", the blond said as he scanned the room.

"Is Sai here?", the blond asked.

"Yes, he is in the room with the blue door, but he prefers to work alone in that room because the other students bother him. I'm honestly not too sure what his issue is. All we were told is that he can not talk"

"He sits next to me on the bus, and we communicate well"

"Oh, so you were the kid who stuck up for him on the bus yesterday right?"

"Yeah, that was me", he said nervously.

"That's great. We need more students like you to stick up for these special needs children. Sometimes we will put them in standard classes with non special needs students just to see if they work better there, but it's very hard for them when kids treat them differently and don't understand. Thank you for being so brave"

"Brave?", Naruto said sounding confused.

"It must taken a lot of bravery to stick up for a kid that you don't even know"

"Yeah, I try to do the right thing", he said.

"That's good, and if you want you can knock on the door and if he opens it then you can come inside"

Naruto walked over to the blue door and knocked. He made eye contact with the pale boy. The boy opened the door to let him in.

"I just wanted to say hello", the blond said.

The pale boy sat down back into his desk and continued to work on his drawing. Naruto went back to what Iruka said about how you can communicate with someone with out words.

"So how many years have you been drawing?", the blond asked.

The pale boy held up 8 fingers.

"That's a long time. I wish I could draw like you", Naruto said as he smiled nervously.

The pale boy showed a small smile, which shocked Naruto. He didn't know how to feel at the moment. It was weird seeing the kid who usually didn't show any kind of emotion smile at him.

Naruto went over to look at the boy's picture, but this time the boy covered it with his hands.

"It's okay if you don't want me to see it, but I won't judge"

Sai put the picture into his portfolio and held up a white note card that said _Bathroom._

"Sure, you can go", Naruto said as he wasn't sure if he was allowed to go alone or not.

He watched as Sai walked out of the door to head to the bathroom.

"Sai where are you going? You know your not supposed to go anywhere alone", the teacher said.

"Sorry I didn't know. He just had to go to the bathroom", the blond said.

"Oh, then that's fine. Next time just go with him to make sure he comes back safely"

"Alright" Naruto said as he closed the door behind him.

When the teacher wasn't looking the pale boy stuck up him middle finger at the teacher. Naruto's eyes widened at the pale boys actions.

"She's just looking out for you", the blond said.

The pale boy rolled his eyes as he walked into the bathroom. Naruto waited outside and watched as a few students walked by. When he looked farther down the hallway he could see Suigetsu and his crew, which made him slightly nervous. He hoped that Sai would come out soon, and a few seconds later he did.

"Come on let's go back", Naruto said.

The pale boy nodded. Naruto ignored Suigetsu as he walked by.

"Usuratonkachi", Suigetsu said.

"Shut up fag", Naruto replied angrily.

"Make me dumbass"

Naruto turned red, but he tried to calm himself down. He wasn't going to get this blue haired douche bag get under his skin.

"Suigetsu stop, it's not even funny", Karin said.

Naruto was happy that Karin stood up for him. She was in his health class and they would often have to work together since they sat next to each other. They would talk and laugh with each other, and Karin gave her his number. He was pretty sure she had a thing for him, which is weird because in middle school all she did was obsess over Sasuke like all the other girls did. Maybe it just took those girls a while to realize that Sasuke wasn't interested in any of the girls no matter how attractive they were.

"This kid's a pain in the ass. Just because you have friends this year doesn't mean that you're special or anything. You think you're so cool don't you Uzumaki?"

Sai stepped up to face Suigetsu, and Naruto knew things were about to get ugly.

"So this is the kid who slapped Rock Lee…I thought you were cool for doing that, but since your friends with the blond little bitch, I'm not so impressed by you anymore", Suigetsu said.

"Don't push his buttons Suigetsu, let's just go back to the lunch room", Jugo said nervously as he could see what was about to happen.

Sai spat right in Suigetsu's face and Naruto's mind went blank. He didn't know if he should interfere or not because he didn't want to get in trouble. All he could do is watch as an angry Suigetsu swung right at Sai's face. Sai dodged the swing and kneed Suigetsu in the stomach. Naruto pulled Sai away as Karin and Jugo held Suigetsu back. Sasuke calmly walked away from the scene ignoring the fight.

The two boys quickly walked away to return back to the classroom, and all Naruto could do is hope that no one else was around to see what had just happened.


	5. So He speaks?

When school ended Naruto was terrified. He didn't know what scared him more, the fact that sai was in danger of having the shit beat out of him, or the fact that people already knew about the fight that had happened in the hallway between Sai and Suigetsu. The blond rushed to his locker and took out a few papers that were crammed at the bottom that he would probably use eventually to study from. As he took out the papers he looked to his left and his right, and thankfully there were no signs of Suigetsu, but he did see Karin who was approaching him at his locker.

There was something about Karin that Naruto liked. He liked how she wore glasses when most girls wanted contacts, he liked how she walked around the halls with confidence, and he liked how she could be straight forward and honest with everyone she talked to. When he needed help with an algebra equation or wanted to copy last nights homework, he knew he could go to her. Even though they just started talking this year, he could already tell that they could be more than friends. But he wasn't sure about dating because he still liked Sakura.

"Hey, sorry about today. It got really out of hand", Karin said nervously.

"Yeah, it's fine. I'll just have to learn to deal with pricks like Suigetsu"

"I talked to him after the fight. I told him to stop bothering you before he got into serious trouble, and I think I talked him out of beating up the new kid. I don't think he will be bothering you for a while"

"That's good. I already have enough problems, so I'm glad he won't be one of them anymore"

"Yeah, he's moving in three weeks anyways"

"What?", the blond asked with excitement.

"Yeah, his parents are moving to some place in England because his dad found a nice house there. And I'm actually happy he's leaving, I never really liked him that much anyways. I don't see how Sasuke could put up with a guy like that"

A strange feeling engulfed the blond. It was something like adrenaline, but even better. The kid who gave him so many troubles was finally leaving his life, and he wanted to hug Karin and do a little victory dance, but he was in public. So instead of acting like an idiot, he tried to keep his school like Sasuke would.

"I'm glad he's leaving. I guess that means you and I won't have to put up with him anymore", he said as he through his backpack over his shoulder.

"That's true", she said as he walked through the hallway and out the door with the blond.

"Well, there's my bus", the blond said as he walked away from the red haired girl.

"Hey wait I wanna tell you something", she said before the blond could take another step.

"On Friday after school do you wanna do something together like...I don't know"

"Like a date?", Naruto asked cutting her off.

"Um...If you want to call it that. We can go get some Hibachi downtown. You don't live too far from there right?"

"No I live like two blocks away from there"

"Same, I live about 10 minutes away if my brother can give me a ride"

"That sounds good to me"

"Alright, see you tomorrow"

Naruto walked away from Karin as he took off to catch his bus. When he walked in everyone was staring at him and few people were whispering. He rolled his eyes and strolled over to Sai who was sitting alone. He could think of two reasons why people would be talking about him. One would be because his new friend had gotten into a fight and the person who witnessed it lied to everyone about what had happened, making it seem as if he had been involved in it too. The second reason would be because he was talking to Karin, and Naruto knew that people were already suspicious of the two. He could eavesdrop up on what someone was whispering about as he walked to his seat.

"So Naruto how are things with your girlfriend Karin", Kiba teased as Naruto sat next to the pale boy who was intensely focusing on his art work.

"Give it a rest already Kiba, it isn't even official yet", Ino teased.

"Don't you guys have better things to talk about?", Sakura snapped.

"Sounds like someone is a little jealous", Kiba said under his breath.

"Jealous of her? That's a joke right?", she scoffed as she turned her head away from Kiba to look out the window.

"Why else would you be so irritated by this topic?", Ino added.

"Because I don't know what's so special about her. She walks down the hall and guys go wide eyed and everyone tries to talk to her like she's God or something", Sakura said as she crossed her arm.

"You can't say that she isn't pretty. If I looked like her I would flirt with like everyone", TenTen said.

"See, so you are jealous Sakura-chan", Kiba said confidently.

"I wouldn't call it jealousy...I just pity everyone that worships her because she's really not that impressive. I've seen far better", Sakura said as if what she was saying was a given fact.

"Well I'm not just gonna sit here and keep quiet...I find her attractive, and we're going on a date on Friday", Naruto bragged loudly as he was completely unaware of his noise level.

Sai glanced over seeing Naruto and Kiba gave him a high five. Sakura's eyes widened a bit but then quickly went back to normal when she noticed that Sai had seen her reaction. Sai had the urge to give her a small smirk from seeing her outraged, but then remembered what he was supposed to remain poker faced no matter who he was around. The only person he really showed emotion towards was Naruto, but he couldn't quite figure out why he was opening up to him so easily.

"Go get it Naruto", Kiba said with a perverted smirk.

"I heard she's not a virgin", Ino said casually as she looked through her algebra text book.

"I wouldn't be surprised", Sakura said coldly.

"Virgin or not, we're still going on that date Friday", Naruto said.

"I'd be careful, you don't wanna get any std's", Sakura hissed.

"Sakura, chill out. You're just jealous because Naruto has finally found someone, and you haven't", Kiba snapped.

"Such a lie", Sakura said as she opened her phone to read a text.

"Whatever guys, just drop it", Naruto said irritated by the constant bickering the two were doing.

Sakura gave the evil eye to kiba who sighed and turned away to talk to someone else.

Luckily before things got even more awkward, the bus stopped on naruto's street.

_"Thank god"_, the blond thought to himself as he walked off the bus and to his house.

* * *

Sai couldn't get to sleep after everything that was going on in his life. He has only been in school for less than a wake and he had already gotten into two fights. The closest person he had to a friend was Naruto, and he hated everyone in his class. Sai didn't think it was fair that he had to be in a special education class because he couldn't speak. He was just like all the other kids who were in standard or honors classes, the only thing that set him apart was that he couldn't speak. He knew he was smart, and he was sure his teachers knew it too because unlike most of the kids he did honors work. But he still didn't enjoy being around people that weren't as smart as he was.

He snuck out of bed and was careful not to make any noise. His father hated when he would leave his room at nice because it would distract him from his "work". With caution he walked down the stairs, grabbed a flashlight, a knife, and snuck out of his apartment complex and went to the park that was less than a mile away. The park was small and had only three swings and a small play ground. There was a large open field that was perfect for kite flying or playing frisbee. In a shaded area there was a wooden bench near a wooded area.

He calmly walked over to the bench, and was surprised when he saw a blond haired kid lying down sleeping peacefully. Sai wasn't sure what to do, but when the kid rolled over and revealed bright blue eyes and three scars on each cheek, he knew who he was. The blond yawned, sat up and stretched. The blond stared at the figure wide eyed.

"Sai? What are you doing here?", the blond said as he made room on the bench for the pale boy.

Sai didn't reply, but that didn't surprise Naruto. There really was no point in asking the guy questions.

"Oh right I forgot, you don't talk", the blond said flatly.

Sai sat down next to the blond and pulled out a notebook. The blond didn't even bother to ask what the boy was writing, after all, it's not like he was the type of person who would just flash his work to anyone who asked. He was introvert, and probably preferred to sit alone.

"I don't mean for this to be rude, but I don't believe that you just can't talk. I'm sure at one point you talked, and I'm sure you say things to your family members too"

"You're right, I can talk", the boy said casually.

"Yeah, I...wait...what?", the blond said in shock.

"I'm sure you heard me the first time, but incase you think you are hearing things, I said I can talk", the pale boy said unaware of the rude tone of his voice.

"So you do talk!", the blond said with a smile.

_No shit sherlock._

"I talk, but I choose not to"

"But why?", the blond said dumbfounded.

"Reasons that I do not want to tell you", he said as he reread his writing.

"Don't you want to have friends? Don't you want to be able to tell people things about you?, or tell people how you feel?"

"No.", he replied dryly.

"I don't believe that", the blond said dismissively.

"Why would I want to have friends. If I don't need them, then I don't want them. And if I were to tell people things about me, it would only scare them away"

The pale boy's voice was soothing and calm, but you could easily tell that he was being serious about very word that came from his mouth. Naruto was confused by how someone could live their life like that. If he couldn't talk, he wouldn't know what he would do.

"And feelings?", the pale boy said as if it were a joke.

The blonds eyes narrowed at him.

"You can tell anyone how you feel, but it won't change how you feel. And at the end of the day...who really cares about how someone else feels"

"If you care about someone then you would care about how they feel, because when you care about someone you value everything about them. Including feelings", the blond snapped.

"Bullshit", he replied coldly.

"Oh really, how so?", the blond said mockingly.

"Because people hurt people, it doesn't matter if you care about them, or if they care about you. Someone always ends up getting hurt. You can't say you've never been hurt by someone you care about"

The blond sat there silently as he recalled of the many times he had been hurt by people who cared about him. He was hurt when Sakura would always talk about how much she liked Sasuke, it would hurt when his best friend Kiba would blow him off to hang out with his crazy partying drunk friends. Naruto really wasn't into drinking, but Kiba pressured him to do it so much that sometimes he would just give in.

"Maybe you're right, and I can tell by what you're saying that you've been hurt by someone you cared about", the blond said as he stared at the stars in the sky.

I" have", The pale boy said while staring blankly at his paper, still pondering on what to write next.

"But you can't let the fear of being hurt by the people you care about, stop you from caring about them. And, if you really did care about them, then you would care about how they felt no matter how poorly they treat you at times. Nobody is perfect, and you can't expect people to never make a mistake"

"Naruto", the pale boy said with closed eyes.

The blond took his gaze off the stars and to the boy that was sitting next to him. His blond brows furrowed.

"What is it?", the blond asked curiously.

"Would you consider me as a...friend?", the boy said shyly.

"Of course I do. I wouldn't have made room for you on this bench if I didn't consider you as a friend. I would have just kept this whole bench to myself and went back to sleep as soon as I saw you if I didn't think of you as a friend. Friends go out of their way to do things for each", the blond said with a smile.

"Friends..."

"Don't tell me you have never had a friend before?", he said with a concerned face.

"Sorry to tell you, but I have never had someone I could call a 'friend'. Japanese was my first language, but I kept on moving to different Countries so I never had time to catch on to their languages, so I ended up unable to communicate with people anyways"

The blond suddenly felt a little more sympathetic for his friend. He never would have guessed that his past was like this, and he was slightly happy to know that he wasn't the only one who had a lonely past.

"Must have been lonely right? Having something to say, but not having anyone understand or listen", the blond said with thoughts of his childhood playing through his head.

"It did hurt"

The blond looked over at the three swings that were next to the playground.

"See those swings over there...I would always be on those swings, even when I had school, and after school. No matter what season it was, or what the weather was like, I would always sit on those swings, and if I felt lonely during the night time, I would sneak out to those swings and stay there until I felt like going back home or the police came"

"Why?"

"Because I didn't have friends, or a place that I really felt like I belonged. My dad is a single parent who is constantly working, I'm adopted, and nobody in school liked me. And for some reason I found those swings comforting, and this park became my home, a place where no one would judge me. A place where I felt safe and secure, no matter how lonely I was", the blond said quietly.

Naruto...I understand", Sai said as he took his eyes off his paper and back onto the swing set.

There was a moment of silence as the two reminisced of all of the loneliness that they went through in life.

"Naruto"

"Yeah?"

"The cops are coming", Sai said as he got up slowly from the bench.

The blond looked into the distance as he saw a cop car with sirens that were getting closer and louder by the second. He quickly got off the bench and with out hesitance ran.

"We're not here to hurt you, we just want to return you kids home safely. It's too late at night for you kids to be wondering around", the cop shouted through the speaker phone.

"There is no way in hell that I am getting caught by the police", Sai said as he picked up his pace and darted passed Naruto.

Naruto ran faster as he tried to catch up to Sai, but being the clutz that he was, he stumbled and landed face first on the sidewalk leaving Sai unsure of what to do. But then he remembered what naruto said.

_"Friends go out of their way to do things for each other"_

Sai stopped running and looked at Naruto who was on the ground with his face in the pavement desperately trying to make his way back to his hands and feet. The cop car turned onto the street, and Sai knew that this wasn't going to end well unless he took action. And without any fear or reconsideration, Sai ran towards Naruto, threw him over his shoulder, and ran into the woods, dodging every tree branch that was in his way. He stopped when he reached a river that stretched across the whole woods.

_Just my luck._

"Freeze. We have you cornered!"

* * *

**Sorry, But I like cliff hangers. Next chapter is going to be where all the drama and stuff begins. Review please 3**


	6. The Truth behind the lies

I looked over at Sai, who appeared to be just as worried as I was.

"Sai", I said nervously. He didn't reply, and it made me even more nervous.

"What are we going to do?", I asked nervously.

"I'm going to have to do something I don't want you to see", he said pulling out his knife.

"Sai no!", I yelled as I tried to grab him. He turned around and hit me, but I couldn't even tell where, that's how quickly it happened. It was one of those moves that you'd see in action movies where the person gets taken out in one hit. It must've been in a vital area because I fell to the ground unconsious, and everything came to a blur.

* * *

When I woke up I was being carried on someone's back, I didn't know whose, and I barely remember what had happened.

"What the hell?", i grumbled to myself.

"Don't worry you're safe"

"Where are we? All I remember is being chased by the cops"

"I'm taking you home"

"How long was I passed out for?"

"About thirty minutes", he said as if it weren't a big deal.

"Care to tell me what the hell happened, or do I not want to know"

There was an awkward silence before he replied.

"Don't worry about it. I'm going to take you home, and make sure that you don't get caught sneaking back into your house"

"How do you know where I live?"

"We take the same bus"

"Oh", I said feeling kind of stupid for asking.

* * *

I snuck back into my home, and as always, I didn't get caught. I went straight to bed and passed out, but my sleep was short. My alarm clock rang, and I woke up feeling like I hadn't gotten any sleep. _Today is going to be hell._

* * *

When i got on the bus, it was more loud and chaotic than usual. Apparently, someone had witnessed the fight between Suigetsu and Sai, and Sai was surprisingly taking things well. When kids asked him questions he would write answers on a piece of paper. It was odd seeing him be social. Maybe something had gotten into him.

"Hey Naruto, better watch out for Suigetsu today. He's ready to beat the shit out of you and your friend"

"I know", I replied sounding irritated with the subject.

"You know, he also likes Karin", Kiba added.

"Great", i said sarcastically. "Can we please discuss something else", I barked.

"I heard Sasuke's gay"

"That rumors been going on and off for years, where have you been?", Kiba said casually.

"Everyone knows that rumors a lie", Sakura said in denial.

"Think about it, he rejects EVERY girl", TenTen added.

"So maybe he doesn't want a relationship", I said.

"Come on Naruto, If he doesn't want a relationship, he probably wants sex"

"Maybe he has had sex, but doesn't brag about it like some people", I said giving Kiba a dirty look.

"I'm a guy, it's what I do"

"Yeah, whatever", I said ignoring his horrible excuse.

* * *

Surprisingly, I had made it through half the day without running into Suigetsu. Thankfully, he wasn't in any of my classes, and when I visited Sai today, and when I saw him his face sort of...lit up. It was odd, and made me feel warm inside. Him being happy to see me made me feel like I was an important part to his life.

"How's it goin'?", I asked him.

We were in an a small empty room, so I figured that he would speak to me.

"It's alright i guess"

I liked to hear his voice, there was something about it that was soothing. Him speaking to me, and communicating with people on the bus was a reminder to me that a lot of progress had been made in a short amount of time.

"About yesterday...", I said curiously.

"I know, yesterday was weird, and I guess it's even more weird now that I'm talking when I've been silent for most of my life"

"Well, you talking isn't the weird thing. The weird thing is that I don't remember what happened yesterday, and you seem to not want to talk about it"

He didn't look me in the eyes, instead, he continued to draw. I figured that he couldn't avoid the subject, and that eventually he would have to reply.

"I knocked you unconsious and beat up the police officers. If I were you, I wouldn't sneak out anymore for a while"

My eyes widened. There was no way he had done that, it was hard to believe, but it made sense.

"Why did you do that?"

"Because I could"

"No, I mean, why did you knock me unconcious"

"Well first, I didn't want you to get in the way, and if you saw how badly I beat up those police officers, I didn't want you to be afraid of me"

I was beginning to lose my patience. What's with this guy? He's hiding something.

"You're hiding something, aren't you?"

He put down his pencil and looked up at me. "Aren't we all?"

"Yes", I said agreeing with him. "But I feel like what you're hiding is a lot deeper and darker than what the average person has to hide"

He looked down at his artwork, and then looked back up at me. "I can speak, and only pretend to be anti social. It's all just an act...". He sounded like he was in pain, as if what he were about to say was extremely difficult, and I can only imagine how difficult it must be.

"I want to have friends, and I want to be put in normal classes. I want to eat lunch with everyone else, and be able to go to the bathroom like everyone else, but..."

"But what..."

"But my father doesn't want me to speak. He wants me isolated from everyone, and I can't tell you why. It's too personal", he choked out. I could feel his pain with every word that slipped out of his mouth. He was lonely, and I could understand how he felt. He's lonely because he is forced to be, and I was lonely because it was my only option.

"We should go for a walk outside", I said trying to make his feel better.

"But what about Suigetsu"

"I don't give a fuck about him, but I do care about you. It's a nice day outside, and I guarantee it'll make you feel a lot better than being cooped up in this small room"

He nodded in agreement. We snuck out of the classroom because, as usual, the special needs kids were causing chaos. It was just too easy.

* * *

Sasuke's P.O.V

"I'm just not interested", I said as I watched the girl tear up. It was a pretty pathetic sight, and I'm getting pretty sick of seeing it. Girls should know by now that I reject them for a reason.

As I watched her walk away, my eyes came across a tall pale student, and his stupid looking blonde friend. _How the hell does he get along with that kid, he's so annoying and ridiculous, and weird. Sure he's eye candy, but his personality is just irritating. They're such opposites, how can they be friends?_

I watched them carefully and realized that the pale boy who "never spoke" was speaking._ This makes no fucking sense at all_. I continued to watch them, talking as if they hadn't seen each other in weeks. I even saw the pale freak smile, he was laughing at what Naruto had said. Wait, is that Suigetsu? I could see him walking with a group of unfamiliar boys, and they seemed to be after Naruto and his friend. For some reason, this bothered me, and as I continued to watch I could see things getting uglier by the second. _I'm going to stop this._

"Hey cut it out"

He looked up at me in shock.

"Butt out Sasuke, I'm gonna show these two who's boss", he said as he cracked his knuckles.

"Why are you sticking up for these two faggots anyways?", he asked rudely.

"Don't say shit like that", I barked at him. Two of his "friends" ran away in fear.

"So much for your crew", Naruto mocked.

"Both of you faggots need to shut up!"

He grabbed Naruto by his shirt collar and pulled him close to his face. At that moment, I'd had enough. I punched Suigetsu in the jaw, and I could sense people running outside to witness what had just happened. Naruto dropped to the ground landing on his butt and falling onto his back.

He got up and tried to hit me in the stomach, but I caught the punch and twisted his wrist. Everyone's eyes were on me at the moment, and I figured that now would be the perfect time to clear things up.

"First of all, I'm gonna clear things up for everyone. I'm gay. It's not that serious, I just don't like girls. Never have, never will. Secondly, I don't ever want to hear you use that word ever again", I said as I twisted his wrist harder.

"Shit, stop let go!", he yelled. His face began to scrunch in pain and I knew that with only a little more pressure i could snap his wrist.

"And lastly, I'm sick of you. That's mainly the reason why I'm sticking up for these two. You always think you're so bad and tough, but you never pick on someone who's actually you're own size. You pick fights and pick on people because you think it makes you look cool. It doesn't. I'm tired of pretending to be on your side"

I smirked when I realized that his body was shaking. I wasn't sure how much more pain he could endure, but I didn't care. He was getting what he'd deserved since middle school.

"So where are your friends now? How does it feel to go up against someone your own size? Intimidating isn't it?", I said as I continued to twist his wrist. Surprisingly the crowd remained silent. There were a few people recording the fight, but other than that it was almost as if everyone was at the movie theater, quietly watching a really intense scene.

"Don't fuck this up Suigetsu, becase I'm only giving you one warning. Next time I catch you trying to be tough, you'll have a lot more than a broken wrist"

The crowd of people gasped when I cracked Suigetsu's wrist. He feel to the ground holding it in pain. I didn't even bother to look down at him, Naruto, or Sai. I casually walked away like nothing had happened.

* * *

**A/N: Not gonna lie this chapter is pretty shitty but oh well. It's a rewrite, but it sucks less than the first one. Next chapter will be better**


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